The Many Faces of Love
by Graffin
Summary: A collection of oneshots by request. I will do any pairing from Path of Radiance. First Chapter-SorenxLethe titled Apologies. Please Read and Review! Thanks.


Hello. This is my first fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy it. It's a SorenxLethe oneshot. Ever since I first played the game, Path of Radiance, a few years ago I always thought they were a cute couple. Well, this is what I've come up with.

Oh, just so you know, this is set in Path of Radiance.

**Disclaimer- I do not own Path of Radiance or any of its characters.**

**The Many Faces of Love – Chapter One - Apologies**

Lethe sighed in exasperation. He was doing it again. That scrawny little beorc was looking at her. He would just stare at her for minutes, sometimes even hours at a time if they were on a particularly long march. If it were anyone else she would have thought him infatuated with her, but not this one. She had learned long ago that the general's tactician held nothing but contempt for her and her kind.

Yet still, he would stare at her, his crimson eyes burning her with his silent watch and meticulous observation. The way he looked at her, like she was some kind of inferior being, filthy no matter how much she bathed, savage, no matter how human she may appear. He looked at her as if she was nothing. And Lethe… was enthralled.

Never before had a beorc had such obvious distaste for her. Usually any grudge his race had against hers would turn to fear at the mere sight of her claws. He, however, cared not for her intimidation and boastful claims of laguz superiority. He would just keep looking at her. She couldn't seem to get a lock on him though, and so, he remained a mystery.

She couldn't understand how his blazing crimson stare, like the very flames he could summon with the flick of his wrist, could be so very cold. It chilled her to the bone to even think of it.

The laguz still had her pride of course, and would not admit to anyone that she was fixated on the sage. There was just something about him that called her to him. She would try as best she could to find out more about the enigma that was Soren, but she never could. Whenever he was near the cat-girl would weaken under his gaze, giving up her silent mission in favor of getting far away from the man. But she knew well that she could not stay away for long. She knew not why, though.

It had been weeks since they had left Begnion. They were now deep within Daein's borders. The ragtag forces of the Crimean Liberation Army had set up camp for the night on the icy fields of Daein. The evening meal had been served hours ago, and now the camp was, for the most part, silent.

Lethe lay in her cot trying to sleep, although it wasn't going well. Thoughts swirled in her head, preventing her mind from rest. It was as if she was catching up for her inhuman focus during the waking hours.

She was just drifting off when she heard a light rustle outside her tent. The laguz sat up in bed. An unmistakable scent filled the room, dusty tomes, ink, and that indescribable something that she had come to relate with the army's moody staff officer. It was _him._ All thoughts of sleep gone, the Gallian warrior pounced out of bed and stalked off into the night after the mage.

She followed his scent into the woods outside of camp. The air was cold and crisp, the snow crunched underfoot, as the girl followed Soren through the loose pocket of trees that the Daeins had the gall to call a forest.

Suddenly, the raven-haired magician stopped. His commanding alto voice echoed away into the frozen wilderness, "Come out, laguz. What is your business with me?"

The sub-human stepped out from the shadows, revealing herself to the mage. "I was just wondering what it was you were doing so late at night. A skinny little beorc like yourself could get hurt out here all alone." She spoke these words with an air of confidence, even though she was not confident in the slightest.

For a moment there was silence, then the mage's voice broke the still night air once more," Leave."

Lethe was surprised. The laguz had never heard the snappy little tactician take such a tone before. There was no malice, no anger, no sarcasm, just an emptiness that permeated the atmosphere around him. That one word, it was so simple, but spoke volumes. It was choked, forced out as if the raven-haired sage had summoned all of his strength to utter that one phrase. Naturally, the cat-girl was confused.

"What's-" she began, but was cut off by Soren, who raised his hand in a silencing gesture.

"Just…._go_," the tactician said forcefully.

She did not listen to his orders. The fiery-haired Gallian approached him, an uncharacteristic look of genuine concern adorned her feline features. She was worried, had something happened?

Soren seemed to lack the strength to leave. He simply averted his eyes as she neared him, his crimson gaze clinging to a weak façade of surveying the Daein landscape.

"What's wrong, beorc?" the laguz queried bluntly.

There was no answer, and Lethe grew impatient. She grabbed the mage's shoulders and pulled him to face her. She was about to ask again, but only managed a choked "Soren" when she saw the expression he wore. It was full of sadness… and shame. The boy's eyes gleamed with unshed tears. He looked at her for a moment more. His face, that had a moment ago been the very image of pain, contorted into a mask of rage.

There was a shift in the wind. The laguz's eyes widened in shock. The wind picked up, and a gale rampaged through the clearing where the two stood. Lethe released him and stepped back, shielding her eyes from the debris that whirled around her.

"Do not touch me again, laguz!" Soren's commanding voice could be heard over the wind. A flash, and then the wind died, and the night was silent. Lethe examined the clearing. Soren was gone.

Lethe wanted to follow him, but couldn't tell what direction he'd gone in. The wind had eliminated the tiniest hint of his scent from the area and had thrown the snow in such a way that finding any tracks would be impossible. Lethe then caught something blowing in the wind out of the corner of her eye. A scrap of paper, in the wilderness? Surely he had dropped it in his hasty retreat.

The Gallian warrior set off to follow the sparse trail of pages that littered the forest floor, but stopped. She picked up one of the pages, curious as to what it was exactly. She read it through, but did not understand what relevancy it had to the raven-haired mage.

The Sins of the Branded- Protocol in the Capture and Extermination of the Abominations

Lethe reasoned that the mage had acquired the tome from the library of the temple they had visited after the capture of the Daein capital. No matter how much she thought about it, the laguz couldn't understand why the staff-officer had taken this particular book.

She followed his trail through the woods, and came to a clearing atop a ridge. Soren sat at the crest of the hill, looking out at the stars that appeared so clear in the cold Daein night. His shoulders gently heaved, as the mage sobbed quietly. The remains of the tome littered the ground around him, burnt to cinders.

The cat-girl stood in stunned silence, quietly observing the scene before her. Finally, she could stand it no longer.

"So there you are, beorc," she said, no longer putting the spiteful turn on _beorc_ as the word passed her lips. "What is wrong?"

Soren sat still, as if he had not heard her, or at least, as if he did not care. The girl approached him, and sat beside him. "What has happened to your quick retorts, beorc?"

Again, the mage just continued staring off into space, ignoring her completely. They sat in silence, Soren hardly moving to breathe, Lethe shaking, in what she told herself was anger.

She tried to speak, to yell at this disrespectful human, but all shouts and curses died in her throat. The fiery-haired cat-girl just stared at the stoic face of the sage. She couldn't take anymore of it. His silence, his utter disregard for her company, it was too much. She managed a quiet "Soren", but he did not so much as blink. She grabbed his arm, shook him as if to rouse him from some waking dream, but he did not respond.

Finally, with a sigh of exasperation, she stood and began walking off. The Gallian shouted over her shoulder," Foolish, arrogant beorc. You think you're so much better than me! You're not!"

She walked on, almost until she was out of earshot, but from behind her she heard a quiet, raspy voice reply, "I know…"

The cat-girl turned, "What was that?"

He slowly turned his head to her, his crimson eyes shining in the moonlight, " I said, I know."

She had reached the end of her rope by this point. She practically ran back to him, and grabbed him by the collar of his dark robes, hoisting him into a semi-standing position.

"What do you mean 'you know'?" she began," If you knew then why do you treat me like you do? Why do you not treat me as an equal, beorc?!"

"Please," he began," Please do not call me that…"

Lethe was puzzled. She had no idea why he did not wish to be labeled as beorc, even though he obviously was one. She was about to shout a response when she noticed something, his expression. Up until now his face had been emotionless, at worst it was melancholic, but now, now it was different… so different from the face she knew. His gaze, that had so recently been proud and defiant, was now sullen and tear-streaked. His once fiery crimson eyes were softened, pleading with her not to press further, but the laguz could not help herself. He had piqued her interest.

"Beo-…Soren, why do you not want to be called beorc? It's not really an insult, you know. I call all beorc that, even the Commander. Why?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically soft and caring.

"Because, I'm not '_all beorc'_," he said spitefully.

"What is that supposed to mean?" the cat-girl queried.

There was an awkward silence, Soren hanging limply in the girl's arms. Finally, he looked up into her eyes," I am… not beorc."

Lethe's face was the picture of confusion. Words formed on her lips, but would not come. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The tome, the tears, the _brand_. Now understanding Lethe couldn't help but stare at the brand adorning Soren's forehead. Slowly he slipped from her grasp back to the ground. She fell with him, her mind overloaded by shock and disbelief.

The mage smiled bitterly," Now you see. I am not your better. It is the other way around. I am scum, filth, an abomination, a monster to be hunted down and slaughtered by both races." He looked up at her, expecting a look of disgust, pity, maybe even a little fear. What the raven-haired mage did not expect was tears.

How could he? How could be say such things about himself? She couldn't understand how he felt, but for some reason, she wanted to. She wanted to share in this poor man's pain, to ease it as best she could. Her mind was now clear. Her heart was now clear to her. The magician, however, was not so sure or himself.

The tactician was dumbfounded. Why was she crying? Lethe, the proud beast warrior was shedding tears on his behalf. It defied all logic. She was probably afraid he might touch her or some such thing. Yes, Soren decided, that must be it. He was about to speak, tell her to leave him alone, to never speak to him again, but for the second time in as many minutes, the fiery-haired cat-girl surprised him.

"S-Soren…" she had stuttered before pouncing on him, wrapping her arms around him protectively. " I'm… so sorry. I had no idea."

The crimson-eyed magician lay there in stunned silence, this fierce warrior girl crying as she held him. He was overcome by her presence. The cold wasteland of Daein fell away around them. It's Gallia, Soren thought. The warm forest air, not truly the humid musk of the Beast country, but the warmth of Lethe. The soft breeze, sweeping through the trees, was not quite as it was in the King of Lions' land, but the warmth of her breath on his neck. The scent of the woods and of the earth, not quite as he had felt it all those months ago. It was her scent. The intoxicating smell that overcame his senses. It was…right.

Slowly, Soren returned to himself. The young branded wrapped his arms around the girl who sobbed into his chest. Slowly, again, her sobs subsided. The raven-haired mage lifted is lips to her ear.

"Thank you," he whispered, the words almost carried away by the wind. She heard him, though. He could tell.

Lethe looked up into his crimson eyes, now burning brighter than they ever had before. He smiled down at her, actually smiled. There were no tricks, no hidden agendas, or false promises. There was only feeling, a pure, unadulterated understanding between the two.

Slowly the fiery-haired cat-girl rose from his chest, coming eye-level with him. They're faces grew closer, tentatively inching together. Then, they met, they're lips coming together in a soft, tender kiss. It seemed to last forever, the euphoria of intimacy to the two solitary souls. Eventually they parted, the taste of his lips still on hers.

"No," the girl smiled," Thank you."

IMPORTANT

**So, what didja think? I think I did a decent enough job. Oh, and this is going to be a collection of oneshots. I'll take requests for any pairing, het, shoujo-ai, shounen-ai, whatever. It doesn't even matter if it's crack. In fact, if I get more than one to start with, I'll do the crack one first. I love crack. It's my…. Crack, I suppose. If you want to submit a request just tell me in a review. And if you have any suggestions or requests for the pairing feel free to ask.**

Oh and I'll only fill requests for Path of Radiance fics. Sorry, but it's been years since I played any of the other ones.


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